SEVENS STINT: Magpie Mason Emerson reflects on his All Black Sevens training stint. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND
HAWKE'S Bay Magpies speedster Mason Emerson has had a taste of the All Black Sevens environment . . . now he wants more.
But that doesn't mean Emerson, 20, has given up on his quest to reach Super Rugby level.
"I still believe my overall pathway is through 15s. But at the moment I want to give sevens a good crack. The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo is a dream of mine and if I could mix some sevens and Super Rugby before then, playing footy and travelling the world, I would be a happy man," Emerson said.
The Hastings Rugby and Sports club player, who will be in action for his club at the Napier Old Boys Marist Invitational 7s at Napier's Park Island today, and Taradale's Billy Ropiha were the two Magpies at the last two All Black Sevens camps in the countdown to the selection of the 12 players for this weekend's opening round of the World Series in Dubai and next weekend's second round in Cape Town.
Former Magpies halfback Jonathan Ruru made the cut, Ropiha is travelling with the squad as a non-playing reserve and Emerson said he "will be there or there abouts in the future."
"Making the final 20 for the last camp was huge for me. Basically I just need more time in the saddle and knowing when to pull out is my biggest work on . . . I've got to look at the bigger picture on attack not just the player in front of me," Emerson explained.
A former New Zealand Secondary Schools sprint champion, Emerson, was disappointed there wasn't any speed testing done at the camps.
It's no secret speed, Emerson regularly stops the clock at 4.7s for 40 metres, is his biggest asset and interim new All Blacks Sevens coach Scott Waldrom is unlikely to ignore it much longer.
"Basically the plan is to keep working on my sevens game and use tournaments like this weekend's, next weekend's Central Region tournament in Horowhenua and the Rotorua-hosted nationals in January to push my case," Emerson said.
The top five teams at next weekend's regionals qualify for the January 14 and 15 nationals and Emerson is confident the Tafai Ioasa-Mark Ozich-coached Bay team will qualify.
"We've got some good young fellahs from Hastings Boys' High School who will be away at the Condors nationals this weekend and our fitness trainer Luke Stephenson has been smashing us, which is good."
Making the contracted list of All Blacks Sevens players, which will be announced after the nationals, is his immediate priority.
To help him achieve this goal Hawke's Bay will have to play better than they did at this year's nationals when they were beaten by Northland in the bowl final.
"We had a couple of close losses at Rotorua. That's sevens games can change so quickly but consistency is the key for us. It's important we start well in our games at regionals and maintain form and then carry that through to nationals," Emerson said.
He pointed out Hawke's Bay opted not to play in the Mount Maunganui inter-provincial sevens, which were staged a couple of week before nationals last summer.
Ioasa and Ozich will make a decision on whether or not they take the same approach this summer after regionals.
"Obviously the Mount Maunganui tournament clashes with the festive season and players like to spend time with families. It's important that we train by ourselves if we don't train as a team through the festive season . . . that Christmas pork has to be worked off," Emerson said.
The Hawke's Bay squad was divided into two teams for a hit-out tournament against other Central Regional provinces three weekends ago and both Bay teams were unbeaten in four games.
Emerson said the signs are good for the remainder of the summer.
He was equally optimistic about Hastings Rugby and Sports chances at today's tournament, which will see 12 senior men's teams battling for a first prize of $2000, and four colts teams in action.
"We're usually there or there abouts at the business end of tournaments and, while we haven't got our Hastings Boys' High players, we've still got the likes of Neria and Ausage Fomai and Star Timu," Emerson said.
One of the key organisers of the event, Magpies halfback and regular Hawke's Bay Sevens rep Ellery Wilson, said his NOBM club opted to host it because they felt there was a need for a tournament in the Bay before Christmas.
"We're hoping it will become an annual event and if so we will run it a week earlier as some teams chose not to come because it was too close to regionals."
Other Bay teams in action today will be Central, Clive, Havelock North, MAC, Napier Technical and Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports. Wellington and Poneke from the capital, Linton from Manawatu and the Southern Sharks from Taranaki are the visiting teams.